My Name is Markham: The Chronicles of St Mary's

Like a smaller and much scruffier Greta Garbo - finally - Markham speaks! It's Christmas and time for the first (and almost certainly last) St Mary's Annual Children's Christmas Party - attendance compulsory, by order of Dr Bairstow. Discovered practising his illegal reindeer dance and poo-dropping routine, our hero, along with fellow disaster magnets Peterson and Maxwell, is dispatched to Anglo-Saxon England to discover the truth about Alfred and the cakes.

The Nothing Girl: The Frogmorton Farm Series, Book 1

Getting a life isn't always easy. And hanging on to it is even harder.... Jodi Taylor brings all her comic writing skills to this heartwarming tale of self-discovery. Known as The Nothing Girl because of her severe stutter and chronically low self-confidence, Jenny Dove is only just prevented from ending it all by the sudden appearance of Thomas, a mystical golden horse only she can see. Under his guidance Jenny unexpectedly acquires a husband - the charming and chaotic Russell Checkland.

A Bachelor Establishment

High adventure and dark mystery combine in a sparkling historical romance, by Jodi Taylor writing as Isabella Barclay from The Chronicles of St. Mary's. Bascombe, widowed and tied to an impoverished estate, has learned to ask little of life. With no hope of leaving, the years have passed her by. Lord Ryde, exiled abroad after a scandal, has returned to strip his estate and make a new start in America.

Just One Damned Thing After Another: An Audible Original Drama

Time travel meets history in this new drama adaptation by Marty Ross. When Max, a recent ancient history graduate, is offered a mysterious job at St Mary's Historical Research Institute, she quickly comes to realise this isn't any old stuffy research library. At St Mary's the historians don't just study the past - they revisit it. What begins as an academic exploration of events, such as the Peterloo Massacre, takes a dark and dangerous turn, and the historians of St Mary's soon learn that it's not just history they're fighting....

White Silence: Elizabeth Cage, Book 1

Elizabeth Cage is a child when she discovers that there are things in this world that only she can see. But she doesn't want to see them, and she definitely doesn't want them to see her. What is a curse to Elizabeth is a gift to others - a very valuable gift they want to control. When her husband dies, Elizabeth's world descends into a nightmare. But as she tries to piece her life back together, she discovers that not everything is as it seems.

Strange Magic

Rosie Strange doesn't believe in ghosts or witches or magic. It's no surprise therefore that when she inherits the ramshackle Essex Witch Museum, her first thought is to take the money and run. Still, the museum exerts a curious pull over Rosie. There's the eccentric academic who bustles in to demand she help in a hunt for the bones of the notorious Ursula Cadence, a witch long since put to death. And there's curator Sam Stone, a man about whom Rosie can't decide if he's tiresomely annoying or extremely captivating.

The Watchmaker's Daughter: Glass and Steele, Book 1

India Steele is desperate. Her father is dead, her fiancé took her inheritance, and no one will employ her, despite years working for her watchmaker father. Indeed, the other London watchmakers seem frightened of her. Alone, poor, and at the end of her tether, India takes employment with the only person who'll accept her - an enigmatic and mysterious man from America, a man who possesses a strange watch that rejuvenates him when he's ill.

Rivers of London: PC Peter Grant, Book 1

My name is Peter Grant and until January I was just probationary constable in that mighty army for justice known to all right-thinking people as the Metropolitan Police Service (as the Filth to everybody else). My only concerns in life were how to avoid a transfer to the Case Progression Unit--we do paperwork so real coppers don't have to--and finding a way to climb into the panties of the outrageously perky WPC Leslie May.

Dark Dawn Over Steep House: Gower Street Detective, Book 5

London, 1884. Sidney Grice is restless, having filed his latest case under S, for 'still to be solved', to await further inspiration. His ward, March Middleton, remains determined to uncover the truth. Geraldine Hockaday was outraged on the murky streets of Limehouse. Yet her attacker is still on the loose. But then a chance encounter brings a new victim to light, and it seems clear March and Grice are on the trail of a serial offender.

The Invisible Library

Irene is a professional spy for the mysterious Library, which harvests fiction from different realities. And along with her enigmatic assistant, Kai, she's posted to an alternative London. Their mission: to retrieve a dangerous book. But when they arrive, it's already been stolen. London's underground factions seem prepared to fight to the very death to find her book.

London Falling: The Shadow Police, Book One

Detective Inspector James Quill is about to complete the drugs bust of his career. Then his prize suspect, Rob Toshack, is murdered in custody. Furious, Quill pursues the investigation, co-opting intelligence analyst Lisa Ross and undercover cops Costain and Sefton. But nothing about Toshack's murder is normal. Toshack had struck a bargain with a vindictive entity, whose occult powers kept Toshack one step ahead of the law - until his luck ran out. Now, the team must find a 'suspect' who can bend space and time and alter memory itself. And they will kill again.

How to Be a Vigilante: A Diary

It's 1998. The Internet age is still in its infancy. Google has just been founded. Eighteen-year-old supermarket shelf-stacker Nigel Carmelite has decided that he's going to become a vigilante. There are a few problems: how is he going to even find crime to fight on the streets of Derbyshire? How will he create a superhero costume - and an arsenal of crime-fighting weaponry - on a shoestring budget?

Ex-Heroes

Stealth. Gorgon. Regenerator. Cerberus. Zzzap. The Mighty Dragon. They were heroes. Vigilantes. Crusaders for justice, using their superhuman abilites to make Los Angeles a better place. Then the plague of living death spread around the globe. Despite the best efforts of the superheroes, the police, and the military, the hungry corpses rose up and overwhelmed the country. The population was decimated, heroes fell, and the city of angels was left a desolate zombie wasteland like so many others.

Storm Front: The Dresden Files, Book 1

A call from a distraught wife, and another from Lt Murphy of the Chicago PD Special Investigation Unit makes Harry believe things are looking up, but they are about to get worse, much worse. Someone is harnessing immense supernatural forces to commit a series of grisly murders. Someone has violated the first law of magic: Thou Shalt Not Kill. Tracking that someone takes Harry into the dangerous underbelly of Chicago, from mobsters.

Extracted: Extracted, Book 1

In 2061 a young scientist invents a time machine to fix a tragedy in his past. But his good intentions turn catastrophic when an early test reveals something unexpected: the end of the world. A desperate plan is formed: recruit three heroes, ordinary humans capable of extraordinary things, and change the future.

Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs: Half-Moon Hollow, Book 1

Maybe it was the Shenanigans gift certificate that put her over the edge. When children's librarian and self-professed nice girl Jane Jameson is fired by her beastly boss and handed $25 in potato skins instead of a severance check, she goes on a bender that's sure to become Half Moon Hollow legend. On her way home, she's mistaken for a deer, shot, and left for dead.

The Men Who Stare at Goats

In 1979, a secret unit was established by the most gifted minds within the US Army. Defying all known accepted military practice - and indeed, the laws of physics - they believed that a soldier could adopt the cloak of invisibility, pass cleanly through walls and, perhaps most chillingly, kill goats just by staring at them. Entrusted with defending America from all known adversaries, they were the First Earth Battalion. And they really weren't joking. What's more, they're back and fighting the War on Terror.

Publisher's Summary

It's Christmas Eve at St Mary's. And all through the house. Nothing is stirring.... Except for Max, Peterson, and Markham, sneaking out at midnight for an assignment that is very definitely off the books.

It was ten years ago tonight that senior historians Bashford and Grey went missing in 12th century Jerusalem. So how did they end up in AD 60 Roman Colchester?

Max has a theory. Peterson has a plan. Markham has bacon sandwiches. Colchester has Boudicca and her bloodthirsty Iceni hordes.

And then there's the giant pig...the enraged, giant pig....

Jodi Taylor is and always has been a history nut. Her disinclination to get out of bed for anything after 1485 can only be overcome by massive amounts of chocolate, and sometimes, if it's raining, not even then. She wanted to write a book about time travel that was a little different and, not having a clue how difficult this would make her book to classify, went ahead and slung in elements of history, adventure, comedy, romance, tragedy, and anything else she could think of. Her advice to booksellers is to buy huge numbers of her books and just put one on every shelf.

Great story as expected. What I didn't expect was, as I'm lying here at midnight unable to sleep due to it being the hottest UK July night on record, to be made to feel Christmassy! Make of that what you will...

Would you consider the audio edition of Christmas Present to be better than the print version?

I haven't read the print version of Jodi Taylor's Chronicle of St Mary's series so I can't say. However I can't imagine the print version being better as the audio is superb.

What other book might you compare Christmas Present to, and why?

Other than the rest of the series ... nothing really.

What about Zara Ramm’s performance did you like?

Everything! She is absolutely perfect in her rendering.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

This is a short story so yes, I listened to it right through.

Any additional comments?

If you haven't read / listened to the Chronicles of St Mary's I really urge you to give them a go if you like clean, informative about history, and laugh out loud funny! The books can be read as stand alone but I advise you to start at the beginning and work through in order as the story line and characters develop with each book. You'll be hooked after the first one. I was, and am eagerly awaiting the audio version of Book 5!

Well written with appearances by your favorite characters. You figure the ending will be disappointing, but it isn't.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Sheryl

Las Vegas, NV

14/09/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"A nice addition to the series"

Very exciting St. Mary's short story. Love the usual St. Mary's humor and excellent narration by Zara Ramm. I do so love this series, especially on audio. I listened to this after book 6, but it takes place before, and so it filled in the blanks on the presence of some historians that are re-introduced in that book. It was fun to see where they came from but it might have been less confusing if I had read this one before book 6 (where I was scratching my head wondering why I couldn't remember these characters). Very strong for a short story.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Kindle Customer

Chesterton, IN, United States

08/08/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Time Travel Fluff"

I may be calling this fluff, but I'll fess up that I love it. It's silly, fun and a great read. Enjoy it!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Angela C

Southern CA

16/07/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Cute, but too short"

Almost a foreword. Over before it started. Leave it to St. Mary's to keep you wanting more.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Colonelswife

10/04/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"As always, Jodi Taylor rocks"

Highly recommend EVERY volume in the St Mary's Chronicles. You will love the characters , the history , humor & adventure . Very cleverly written , & ZARA RAMM is simply superb .

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Ian

Northmead, Australia

10/04/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Short...but can't complain about the price"

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Jodi Taylor writes fairly madcap time travelling adventures. These very short stand-alone stories sit in that world and offer an entertaining escape from reality. Best of all, they're free!

What other book might you compare Christmas Present to and why?

Tough to compare it with anything. I guess Jodi Taylor books have that same whacky humour you get from Douglas Adams...and maybe Ben Elton.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Angi

New Orleans, Louisiana United States

04/06/17

Overall

Performance

Story

"Adorable!"

This is just what it says, an adorable Christmas present for we readers! (Even though I personally listened to it in June! Hehehe!!)As usual the narration is top notch. I honestly can't imagine another voice for this series. I'm not going to say much as it is a short and I refuse to include spoilers. Let's just say it's well worth the listen! Ms. Taylor please keep gracing us with your words and Ms. Ramm please keep gracing us with your voice!

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Richard S. Swol

Lindstrom, MN USA

02/05/17

Overall

Performance

Story

"St. Mary's Never Leaves Anyone Behind"

Would you listen to Christmas Present again? Why?

Yes. It was a short but excellent entry into the series. It also gave some more depth to the character of Guthrie.

What did you like best about this story?

In the face of a stream of attacking chariots, historians bickering about what the driver is wearing. All the while security is trying to get them out of the way.

Have you listened to any of Zara Ramm’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes. Again, she is the perfect narrator for this series. Her voice fits perfectly.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The scenes with Guthrie. Both at the beginning and end of the story. It really humanized him.

Any additional comments?

All in all a lovely Christmas present to the readers/listeners.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Sharon

20/04/17

Overall

Performance

"warms the heart"

a special story that just warms the heart and leaves you wanting more. looking forward to the next story

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Christine McIntyre

21/03/17

Overall

Performance

Story

"History the way i like it"

loved it from beginning to end and the narrator was sublime! perfect in every way

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

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